Dark Ages
by sKayFoid
Summary: This is the part in New Moon where the pages are just months. This is what Charlie had to go through with Bella during this time frame. So like I said this is from Charlie's POV.
1. Chapter 1

Helpless

She just lay there; lifeless. The worst part of all of this was I couldn't do anything for her. I never felt so completely helpless, or was it hopeless? So I sat, confused in my own muddled mind. I knew her heart would heal eventually. I knew what she was feeling to some extent. After all, her mother had up and left me and took my life along with her. She took my baby girl, my Bella. I felt as empty as the house they left me in. I forced myself to eat, sleep, get up, and go to work. But those feelings were now buried deep covered over by my new life; my work. As Chief of the police force in Forks my availability has to be a constant variable in my life. I admit that I left Bella home alone most days. I might have even left her by herself too much. Maybe I could have put a stop to her obsession with that Cullen boy.

I sat in her bedroom rocking in the rocking chair that was nestled in the corner. I smiled at the memory of her mother sitting in this very chair cradling Bella in her arms and gently humming her to sleep. I was too afraid to move. I feared that I would wake her and her tears, or even worse the lifelessness, would spill from her eyes. So there I sat rocking quietly and watching her from the corner of her room. I played out the night before in my head. The thought of Edward Cullen leaving my daughter alone in the woods by herself was enough to make my blood boil. I was half tempted to grab my gun and go hunt the bastard down. Bella shifted in her sleep and said 'no,' as if she read my mind.

Somewhere in between wanting to do some damage and listening to Bella talk in her sleep, I drifted off. The memories of Renee and Bella flitted through my dreams. The sound I heard next will probably give me nightmares for the rest of my life. I was dreaming of Renee rocking a baby Isabella in the rocking chair in her nursery, when a blood curdling scream cut through my memories. My eyes snapped open, and I would have almost sworn my heart had stopped. Bella was kicking and screaming in her sleep. There were no words, just screams. I hurried to her side, but by the time I had gotten to her bed she had already awaken herself.

"Dad?" She sounded groggy, breathless. I walked to her desk and turned on the lamp that sat next to her computer. I could see the sweat that plastered her hair to her forehead and cheeks. Her face was flushed, as if she had just got done running a mile. I watched her try to calm herself down. Walking back to the bed I bent down, picked up a towel on her floor, and handed it to her.

"You okay kiddo?" I asked sitting down on the bed at her feet. I didn't know what to say to her. Even worse, I didn't know what to do for her. The sense of helplessness had landed on my shoulders again. She just sat there staring at nothing in particular. I didn't even ask her what she dreamed of. The lifelessness crawled back into her eyes as she lay back down and just curled in on herself. I knew I wasn't going to get an answer, so I got up and walked out of the room and into my own. What a night. I didn't even bother to undress. I flopped on my bed and slung my arm over my eyes and I was out.

I had slept an hour through my alarm. I crept into the bathroom to get ready for work. I was half tempted to call and have the Deputy Sheriff cover my shift, but I figured Bella would be sleeping all day. I was running late, so I would have to grab breakfast on the go. Driving to work I caught myself thinking about how much pain I would like to inflict on the Cullen boy. I shook myself out of it. If Bella didn't get better soon I would have to do something. I thought about calling Renee. As much as it hurt me to lose her again, I knew that Bella should be with her mother. Renee would know how to handle this and could handle this much better than I ever could.


	2. Chapter 2

The Call

I called Renee that night when I got off of work. As I suspected Bella had not moved from the position I left her in last night. She still lay curled in on her side. I had to stand there for a minute just to make sure she was still breathing. If she was awake, she didn't acknowledge my presence.

"Bella? Are you hungry?" I whispered it to her. If she were awake she would hear me. If she were asleep I would go unnoticed. There was no answer. I assumed she was sleeping. I turned out of her room. I didn't close the door, I wanted to be able to hear her if she called for me.

I went down into the kitchen to call Renee. She answered the phone on the first ring.

"Hello? Bella is that you honey?" Renee sounded expectant. Like she knew Bella would get over this and call her as soon as she was able to. I laughed inwardly. It wasn't a comical laugh, if anything it was condescending. How Renee could have lived with Bella for seventeen years and still not know her daughter was way beyond me.

"No Renee, it's me." I swear I could hear her heart drop through the phone.

"Charlie how is she? " I almost felt sorry for the sudden change in her voice.

"She hasn't moved since last night. She hasn't eaten in two days. I swear if the bathroom light hadn't been on when I got home, I would have thought she peed in the bed. I can't do this on my own Renee. I don't know what to do for her." To my own ears I sounded exhausted, resigned. Renee didn't sound any better.

"What did the doctor say?" This brought me up short. Bella hadn't seen the doctor since two nights ago when we found her.

"Well, he asked a lot of questions-

"Charlie! Are you telling me that Bella hasn't eaten in two days, and in those two days you didn't think that maybe she needed medical help?" I could almost see Renee's face changing colors.

"Well, er, no. I'm new at this Renee. I don't know what is required to take care of a depressed teenager. Should I take her in?"

"Yes, Charlie yes. She needs to see a doctor so that _he_ can tell you how to take care of a depressed teenage girl."

"Well I thought about doing that. I just wanted to call you first to see what you thought I should do."

"Oh, honestly Charlie, do you need to be slapped with a healthy dose of common sense?" She paused. I waited while she thought of her next insult to throw my way. "Maybe, maybe I should come and get Bella. Clearly she'd be better off with me and Phil in Florida."

I wasn't going to let her know how much that hurt me. I was as fit as she was to raise a daughter. Sure I thought that Bella would be better off with her mother earlier, but now Renee had hurt my pride.

"I'll call the doctor tomorrow; see what he has to say. If there is something that you can do for her that I can't, then we will move her to Florida. But I'm going to have my try first." I said through clenched teeth.

"You have a month from today for some improvement. If there isn't a significant change in her by then, then she comes home to me. I'll even fly up there and help you pack her things."

"Fine." And she hung up.


	3. Chapter 3

Decision

Throughout the month I kept Renee posted on how Bella was doing. I called the doctor and scheduled weekly appointments for checkups on Bella. Though I never let him up to see her, I described in full detail what was going on around the house. I feared that his being here would scare her, so we sat in the kitchen discussing what courses I should take to help Bella get better.

Weight loss from her already fragile frame worried him. She looked like a mild methamphetamine addict by week three. The only time she came out of her room was to use the bathroom. I brought food up to her two times a day. When it came time for the next meal, I'd find either a whole meal still left on her plate, or the food had been slightly picked at. On the latest visit the doctor pulled me aside to have a talk about the options as a parent I would be facing very soon.

"I must admit Charlie that Bella has been slowly, but steadily regressing throughout the month. Malnutrition and dehydration are my biggest fears. Have you been having a hard time getting her to eat or drink?" Dr. Gerandy asked.

"Well, I will have to say that the food around the house has been less than edible since I took over the cooking." I shamefully admitted. I played with a string on the cuff of my shirt to avoid meeting his eyes.

"I'm afraid that the state of your daughter can be more or less described as catatonic. Maybe a social worker can help Bella to break out of the emotional slump your daughter has been in."

"Catatonic? Doc, are you suggesting that I put Bella in an asylum?" I was horrified. I didn't want to be the one to have to hole her up in a hospital until, or if, she snapped out of this. Maybe it was time to admit defeat and hand her off to Renee.

"Well Charlie, I'm afraid that Bella may need professional help. You and I are out of our specialties here. There is nothing that I can do for her mentally or emotionally. I can help keep her healthy physically, prevent the dehydration and malnutrition from killing her. But I'm afraid that that's as far as my specialty will reach."

I mulled this over in my mind. I must have sat there for what felt like hours before I decided that it was time to admit defeat and call Renee. If Bella needed to be in special care then I was not going to be the one to put her up in a hospital. I would let Renee make that decision, or maybe she could snap Bella out of it before she needed to come to that.

"I think I need to call her mother before I make any decisions. I would really rather Renee had a chance to help Bella before we put her in a hospital."

"Very well, but remember that this is a serious matter that needs to be handled right away. Not just for her physical needs, but her mental as well."

"So you're saying that my options are to either let Bella waste away, or put her up in a ward. Are those really my only options? Isn't there anything else?" I was reaching now. I knew I was desperate to keep Bella with me. To know that I was the one who was fit enough to make her better. I knew I had to call Renee when Dr. Gerandy left. Dr. Gerandy just bowed his head and sighed.

"I'm afraid so, Charlie. Really, let the people who specialize in this sort of thing take care of her. You'll be able to visit during visiting hours, so it won't be as if you were losing her completely. Think of her well-being Charlie. She needs help." I had heard enough. I sat with my head in my hands. I didn't look up when the chair across from me scraped across the linoleum. Dr. Gerandy walked around the table to pat me on the shoulder. With his hand still on my shoulder he said, "We all must face hard paths in our lives. Yours is just as big a puzzle as the rest of ours. Remember that you are not alone." And with that he left the house. That was the last time I let Dr. Gerandy in my house.


	4. Chapter 4

Tantrum

Renee flew out from Jacksonville a week later. She came out to help pack a few of Bella's belongings. When I left the house Bella was still laying in bed, wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Renee's flight came in a half hour ago and I had to drive to Port Angeles to pick her up. She was not going to be in a good mood for having to wait.

I got to Port Angeles in record time. I flipped on the police sirens when I hopped on the highway and the way was cleared. No one would suspect a thing. When I pulled into the terminal I got an icy stare from Renee.

"Have trouble finding the city Charlie, or just the airport?" It wasn't an angry retort, but it dripped with sarcasm. I pretended that she didn't even speak. I wasn't in the mood for a confrontation. My mind was fixed on getting Bella the help that she needed.

The ride back to Forks was much the same as the drive to Port Angeles, quick and quiet. It seemed like no time at all that we were pulling into the driveway, and then walking up the stairs to Bella's room. I went into the closet and grabbed the suitcase that was on the floor in the back of the closet. I laid it out, open, on the floor so that we could throw some clothes into it. As Renee rummaged through her drawers I went through her closet grabbing tee shirts and jeans and tossing them next to the suitcase.

All of the commotion must have woken Bella up because for the next half hour we watched her go into frenzy around the room.

"What are you doing in my room? What are you doing with my clothes?" She screamed. She tossed herself out of bed and started whipping around the room throwing the suitcase into the closet and then grabbing up her clothes.

"You're coming back to Florida with me baby. We are going to take you to a hospital where you can get some help." Renee tried to sound calm and collected but her voice quavered. Bella's eyes lit up. She jerked her body towards me.

"You don't want me anymore?" I heard the hurt in her voice. Her eyes flashed to the lifelessness that they had shown for a month. She turned to her mother. "He doesn't want me anymore?" I had a feeling this wasn't the first time she had heard these words. She turned back towards me and her eyes lit up with fire.

"Bella, honey, it's not that Charlie doesn't want you. He just doesn't know what to do for you. You don't eat, you don't move, you have missed a month of school. You won't return any of your friend's phone calls. We are just going to get you professional help. That is all." Bella wouldn't hear any of it. Still staring at me she bent over and picked up her hair brush and pointed it at me.

"You can't make me leave. I will not go anywhere against my will Charlie. You can't make me leave." She growled at me.

"Baby, we are just trying to get you some help. You know we love you very much." Apparently she wasn't going down without a fight. She threw her hairbrush at me.

"I said, you can't make me leave. I won't go. I won't go!!" She threw herself onto her bed and started kicking and screaming. She threw her pillows and her blankets off of the bed. "This is my house too, Charlie. I live here too." She kicked and screamed. The only thing we could do was watch from the door way. Renee had her hand over her mouth and tears rolled down her face.

Just as suddenly as it had started, Bella went limp. She sucked in a deep breath and heaved out a gut wrenching sob. And there she lay, sobbing. Renee ran to her side and grabbed her up in her lap to try and soothe her. I trusted Renee to do her motherly thing. I turned out of the room and went to go and wait in the kitchen.


End file.
